Programs
MCSJE has developed programs that engage and inspire established and emerging researchers and practitioners with the goal of driving impact in the field of Jewish education scholarship.
Featured Content Slideshow
Research
MCSJE’s faculty and community of affiliated scholars conduct research that promotes a deeper understanding of learners and learning in Jewish education.
Conferences and Events
MCSJE offers a robust schedule of events throughout the year. Many events are open to the public, while others are tailored to audiences of scholars or educational leaders.
The Leading Research Center for Jewish Educational Scholarship
The Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education (MCSJE) is dedicated to advancing the field of Jewish educational scholarship through expansive research on teaching and learning and by convening and catalyzing other scholars and practitioners in the field through important programs, events and conferences.
Upcoming Events
How American Activists Helped Free Soviet Jews | Professor Shaul Kelner
September 26, 1 PM - 1:30 PM
Learning About Learning | Shaul Kelner will discuss his recent book, A Cold War Exodus: How American Activists Mobilized to Free Soviet Jews. Referencing hundreds of archival sources, Professor Kelner recounts the compelling stories of heroism that helped to free Soviet Jews. In this session, he will discuss how this activism — including within Jewish educational spaces — reshaped the Jewish American experience from the Johnson era through the Reagan-Bush years.
How Educators Can Overcome Barriers to Engaging with the Conflict | Keren Fraiman
October 10, 1 PM - 1:30 PM
Learning About Learning| There is a growing consensus that successful and holistic Israel education demands a sophisticated and nuanced engagement with critical questions within Israel, and in particular, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This feels especially pressing in a post October 7th world. Despite this critical need, many educators continue to express reticence for conflict education. In this session, Keren Fraiman will explore why educators are hesitant to engage in conflict education, highlighting the greatest sources of challenge and a typology of barriers to entry. Importantly, she will share what we can do to support our educators, educational systems, and the community more broadly.
Jewish Creativity: An Essential Aspiration for Jewish Education | Professor Miriam Heller Stern
November 7, 1 PM - 1:30 PM
Learning About Learning | Habits of creative thinking have sustained the Jewish people through centuries of crisis and opportunity. How might the enterprise of Jewish education reclaim and teach creativity? Weaving together a wide range of theory and research, including affective neuroscience, Jewish philosophy and education, and studies of creativity and arts education, Miriam Heller Stern will discuss a framework for fostering Jewish creativity that can be pursued across the Jewish educational ecosystem.
Featured Videos
Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field
May 30
How do educators from differing pedagogical orientations learn, undertake, and ultimately improve the work of teaching Israel? In this conversation, "Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field" editors Sivan Zakai and Matt Reingold discuss the complex issues facing those who teach about Israel, along with respondents Lisa Grant (Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion) and Alex Pomson (Rosov Consulting), and moderator Sharon Feiman-Nemser (Brandeis University).
Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration in Jewish Education
May 2
In this special event, authors from a recent themed issue of Journal of Jewish Education discussed their articles on race, ethnicity, and immigration in Jewish education. The issue spotlights the experiences of underrepresented individuals and serves as compelling testimony to the diverse array of Jewish experiences and identities, challenging prevailing norms about how Jewish educational spaces are designed and who benefits from them. Co-sponsored by the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education at Brandeis University, the Grant Center for the American Jewish Experience at Tulane University, and the Journal of Jewish Education.